The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for monitoring drilling fluids and, more specifically, for determining quantities, distributions, and other characteristics of interest of components within a drilling fluid using optical computing devices.
During the drilling of a hydrocarbon-producing well, a drilling fluid or “mud” is continuously circulated from the surface down to the bottom of the wellbore being drilled and back to the surface again. Prior to being conveyed downhole, the fluid may be treated by adding or removing components to obtain a predetermined mixture designed for optimal efficiency of the fluid. However, due to natural tendencies, the fluid mixture may change during circulation. For example, one problem is the loss of certain sized drilling fluid components through pores of the wellbore wall. Such loss will result in a different particle size distribution (PSD) of drilling fluid components. To counteract this, a well operator may add lost circulation materials (LCM), such as ground peanut shells, mica, cellophane, calcium carbonate, etc., to the fluid to form a filter cake on the wellbore wall and reduce or prevent further fluid loss. Some portions of various LCM compositions, however, may be removed from the drilling fluid due to intended consumption or through the use of shaker screens or other solids control units. Another issue that may arise, also affecting component PSD, is particle size attrition due to particles breaking down or otherwise being ground to smaller sizes while circulating through the drill pipe, out the drill bit, and within the wellbore.
Currently, tests to measure PSD of drilling fluid may be performed on a sample of the drilling fluid taken out of the flow line. As this fails to give real-time feedback to the operator, methods such as laser diffraction may be used to sample the drilling fluid at a predetermined point in the flow line. While these current methods and techniques return information pertaining to particle sizes within the drilling fluid, one of skill in the art will appreciate that additional information regarding particle type and particle morphology may allow further refinement and efficiency of the drilling fluid.